On the 14th night, there is a passing of the Freedom torch (similar to the Olympic torch) that goes through cities as people hold lanterns that they've made (with a light or candle inside) to represent that torch. When the Central American countries declared independence from Spain there was a torch that traveled from Guatemala to Costa Rica, to signify that they had gained independence. Last night in San Pedro, there was an event at the nearest park, with speeches, music and folklorico performances. Then the street was shut down as groups of students ran with the torch with a police/fire dept escort. It was really cool to see the lanterns, people put a lot of time into making them. Some of them were really creative, small houses, or an underwater theme.
This morning I was able to wake up bright and early and made it to San Jose by 815am. I heard there was a parade but wasn't sure when it started or where it would be. So wandered around until I heard music and found the route. Most of the parade was made of groups of students holding flags, dressed up in traditional clothing, marching bands. There was some folk dancing that looked very similar to garba footwork! Not any floats or animals really. I hung around for a few hours, took some pics, did some shopping and rode the bus back. For once, it was still cloudless and sunny at 12 noon! by 2pm though the clouds rolled in and its sprinkling a bit right now.
Last night I came home to find the power was out! For some reason our whole block didn't have electricity and it was a bit scary walking home but I keep a flashlight in my backpack so was able to get home OK. I heated up some water on the gas-tank-powered stove and was able to take a quick bath, cooked some dinner by candlelight and just when I decided to get comfy and read by flashlight with a glass of wine, the power came back on. So all in all, it was only out for 3 hours, not bad!
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